There are almost 1,000,000 premature deaths each year in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that between 20% and 40% of these death are preventable.

According to CDC figures, the five leading causes of death in the US are:

1. Heart Disease ~270,000 deaths annually.  (92,000 are preventable)
   Risk factors include: tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, being overweight, and lack of physical activity.
2. Cancer ~ 400,000 deaths annually. (84,500 are preventable)
   Risk factors include: tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, being overweight, sun exposure, certain hormones, alcohol, some viruses and bacteria, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals and other substances.
3. Unintentional Injuries ~95,000 deaths annually (37,000 are preventable)
   Risk factors include: lack of seatbelt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, unsafe consumer products, drug and alcohol use (including prescription drug misuse), exposure to occupational hazards, and unsafe home and community environments.
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases ~ 75,000 deaths annually (29,000 are preventable)
   Risk Factors include: tobacco smoke, second-hand smoke exposure, other indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and exposure to occupational agents.
5. Stroke ~ 51,000 deaths annually (17,000 are preventable)
   Risk Factors include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, being overweight, tobacco use, alcohol use, and lack of physical activity.

Defining and Understanding a Premature Death

Although most of the risk factors are related to personal lifestyle choices, there are some socioeconomic causes as well, since the distribution of preventable deaths differ widely from state to state.  Southeastern states had the highest number of preventable deaths.

The opium epidemic claimed 63,000 lives in 2016, which has grown significantly since 2010, the year the source CDC report was prepared.  This implies that the number of ‘Unintential Injuries‘ have risen significantly since the report was published.

So what is a considered a premature death?  The CDC classifies any death occurring before the age of 80 as premature.  It’s a simple but effective way to classify those deaths which have a significant downward pressure on life expectancy statistics.

The effect of preventable deaths, especially in males, is readily visible in life expectancy statistics.  The Social Security Administration lists male life expectancy at birth in the US at 76.15 years.  But this figure is relatively low because many men die at a young age, often from deaths that are preventable.  If a man reaches the age of 60, his life expectancy rises to 81.5  A very significant difference.

What can we do?

A combination of education, legislation, and government policies seem to be the most effective long term solution to many of these challenges.  A perfect example is the reduction in traffic fatalities.  Seat belt use (education), standard airbags and anti-lock brakes (legislation), and safer road design (government policy) are largely responsible for the drop in traffic fatalities in the US.  Americans today are only 45% as likely to die in an automobile accident than in 1970.

Source

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention – https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0501-preventable-deaths.html

AJPH – American Public Health Association – Quantifying the Epidemic of Prescription Opioid Overdose Deaths – https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304265

Social Security Administration – Actuarial Life Table – https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html

Wikipedia – Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year